&#34;Pipe/Connector Weld Joint, and Methods of Welding Same&#34;

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a method for welding a pipe section and a connector, wherein each of the pipe and connector have inner and outer beveled surfaces and the joint is comprised of an angular alignment land. In one embodiment, an outer beveled surface on the pipe and an inner beveled surface on the connector cooperate to define the angular alignment land. In yet another illustrative embodiment, the inner beveled surface of the connector and the outer beveled surface of the pipe have a bevel angle of approximately 30 degrees, while the outer beveled surface of the connector and the inner beveled surface of the pipe have a beveled angle of approximately 45 degrees.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No.10/546,348, filed on Apr. 11, 2006, presently pending, and incorporatedby reference herein for all it discloses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally directed to the field of tubularstructures, and, more particularly, to a novel joint design between atubular component and a connector and a method of welding same.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the oilfield industry, many separate lengths of pipe are coupledtogether to create, in some cases, very long conduit structures. Suchstructures may be used for a variety of purposes, e.g., transportationof oil and gas, lining of wells, etc. Typically, each section of pipe isprovided with a threaded pin connector (male connector) on one end and athreaded box connector (female connector) on the other end. Pipesections are coupled to one another by threadingly engaging the pinconnector on one tubular with a box connector on another tubular. Thisprocess is continued until the desired length of the structure iscompleted.

In some cases, a section of pipe is provided and the pin and boxconnectors are welded onto the opposite ends of the pipe. The diameterof the pipe may vary depending on the particular application, e.g., 20″,26″, 30″, etc. The wall thickness of the pipe may also vary dependingupon the particular application, i.e., the wall thickness may varybetween approximately 0.438-2.0 inches.

As indicated in FIG. 1, in some cases, the joint 10 between the pipe 12and the connector 14 was a single bevel joint in which the standard pipejoint bevel of approximately 30 degrees was provided on both components.The longitudinal centerline 13 of the pipe 12 is schematically depictedin FIG. 1 as are exterior surfaces 18 and interior surfaces 20 of thepipe 12 and connector 14. Also depicted in FIG. 1 is a vertical land 15formed on both the pipe 12 and the connector 14. Typically, the joint 10was filled by performing one or more welding passes from the outside ofthe joint 10.

Joining the pipe 12 and connector 14 using the joint 10 configurationdepicted in FIG. 1 presented several problems. For example, especiallywith large diameter piping, obtaining axial alignment between the pipe12 and the connector 14 was a very difficult and time-consuming processdue to a variety of reasons, e.g., the pipe and/or connector beingout-of-round, the weight and stiffness of the pipe 12 and connector 14,waviness in the pipe 12, etc. Typically, prior art techniques foraxially aligning the pipe 12 and connector 14 might involve welding onvarious clips and manipulating the pipe 12 and/or connector 14 untilsuch time as the proper axial alignment was achieved. Such manipulationof the components was very difficult due to, among other things, thephysical size and weight of the pipe 12 and the connector 14.Thereafter, prior art welding processes often involved tack welding thejoint 10 at several locations around the perimeter of the joint 10,followed by performing a MIG welding process to lay down a relativelysmall weld bead in the joint 10 at the root 19. Thereafter, the joint 10was completed by performing any of a variety of known welding processesto completely fill the joint 10. Due to the volume of the joint 10, ittypically took several passes, i.e., multiple weld beads, to completelyfill the joint 10.

The present invention is directed to a device and various methods thatmay solve, or at least reduce, some or all of the aforementionedproblems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one illustrative embodiment, the present invention is directed to apipe section and a connector that are adapted to be welded together,wherein each of the pipe and connector have inner and outer beveledsurfaces and the joint is comprised of an angular alignment land. In oneembodiment, an outer beveled surface on the pipe and an inner beveledsurface on the connector cooperate to define the angular alignment land.In yet another illustrative embodiment, the inner beveled surface of theconnector and the outer beveled surface of the pipe have a bevel angleof approximately 30 degrees, while the outer beveled surface of theconnector and the inner beveled surface of the pipe have a beveled angleof approximately 45 degrees.

In another illustrative embodiment, the present invention is directed toa method of welding a pipe and a connector together, wherein the jointmay be completely welded by performing a single weld pass on theinterior of the weld joint and by performing a single weld pass on theexterior of the joint. In some cases, e.g., for pipe having a wallthickness in excess of one inch, the outer portion of the weld joint maybe filled by performing multiple welding passes. In another illustrativeembodiment, the present invention is directed to a product that isformed by performing the welding method described above to join a pipeend to a connector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional depiction of an illustrative prior art weldjoint between a pipe and a connector.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an illustrative tubular component havingconnectors attached thereto in accordance with one illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A-3B are cross-sectional views depicting various details of aweld joint between a pipe and a connector in accordance with oneillustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A-4C depict illustrative embodiments of a welding process thatmay be employed in accordance with the present invention to fill variousillustrative weld joints.

FIGS. 5A-5B depict one illustrative technique for forming the innerbeveled surface of the pipe in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by wayof example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that the description herein of specificembodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In theinterest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation aredescribed in this specification. It will, of course, be appreciated thatin the development of any such actual embodiment, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effortmight be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached drawings which are included to describe and explainillustrative examples of the present invention. The words and phrasesused herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaningconsistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by thoseskilled in the relevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase,i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customarymeaning as understood by those skilled in the art, is intended to beimplied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extentthat a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning, i.e., ameaning other than that understood by skilled artisans, such a specialdefinition will be expressly set forth in the specification in adefinitional manner that directly and unequivocally provides the specialdefinition for the term or phrase.

As indicated in the background section of the application, tubularcomponents 22 are provided with connectors, such that they may becoupled to other tubular components. FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative pipesection 20 comprised of a length of pipe 22, a female connector 24having an internally threaded box connection 25 and a male connectorhaving an externally threaded pin connection 27. The connectors 24 and27 are coupled to the pipe 22 using weld joints 30 in accordance withthe present invention. Pipe sections 20 may be coupled to one anothervia engagement of the threaded connections on adjacent pipe sections 20.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art after a completereading of the present application, the present invention is not limitedto use with any particular type of tubular components or with anyparticular type of connector 24, 26. For example, the present inventionmay be employed using API line pipe governed by API Specification 5L(Forty-second edition, January 2000) which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. The connectors 24, 26 may employ any type orsize of threads. Thus, the illustrative examples depicted herein shouldnot be considered a limitation of the present invention unless suchlimitations are expressly recited in the appended claims.

Details and associated geometry of the weld joints 30 in accordance withillustrative embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 3A-3B wherein an illustrative pipe 22 is adaptedto be welded to a generic connector 40, which may be threaded or not. InFIGS. 3A-3B, a longitudinal axis or centerline 75 of the pipe 22 isdepicted. In the lower portions of FIGS. 3A-3B, the pipe 22 and theconnector 40 are depicted in an axially spaced-apart relationship,whereas in the upper portions of FIGS. 3A-3B, the pipe 22 and theconnector 40 are depicted in an illustrative engaged position. As setforth above, the pipe 22 should be understood to be any type of pipe andthe connector 40 should be understood to be any type of connector. Ingeneral, the details of the weld joint 30, i.e., geometry anddimensions, may vary depending upon the wall thickness 32 of the pipe22. The pipe 22 has an inner surface 221 and an outer surface 220.Similarly, the connector 40 has an inner surface 401 and an outersurface 400. In the illustrative embodiment, the pipe 22 has an outerbeveled surface 31 and an inner beveled surface 33. The connector 40 hasan outer beveled surface 41 and an inner beveled surface 43. In joints30 wherein the wall thickness 32 is greater than 1.375 inches, theconnector 40 may have a secondary outer beveled surface 45 (see FIG.3D).

In the illustrative embodiments depicted in FIGS. 3A-3B, the pipe outerbeveled surface 31 and connector inner beveled surface 43 are beveled atan angle 42 of approximately 30 degrees±5 degrees with respect to a line50 normal to the longitudinal centerline 75 of the pipe 22. However, theincluded angular misalignment of the mating surfaces 31, 43 shouldgenerally be small enough after mating to prevent blowthrough, typicallyless than approximately 2 degrees. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment,the angle 42 is approximately 30 degrees±1 degree. The pipe innerbeveled surface 33 and connector outer beveled surface 41 are beveled atan angle 44 of approximately 45 degrees±5 degrees with respect to theline 50. In the depicted embodiment, the surfaces 31 and 43 have thesame bevel angle and the surfaces 33 and 41 have the same bevel anglealthough that is not required in all embodiments of the presentinvention. For the embodiments where the wall thickness 32 is greaterthan 1.375 inches, the secondary outer beveled surface 45 is beveled atan angle 46 of approximately 15 degrees±5 degrees with respect to anormal line 50. The secondary outer beveled surface 45 is provided to,among other things; reduce the volume of the weld joint 30. As such, thesecondary outer beveled surface 45 may not be required in allembodiments of the present invention.

In the illustrative embodiments depicted in FIGS. 3A-3B, the pipe innerbeveled surface 33 has a radial dimension 51 approximately 0.25 inches,and the connector inner beveled surface 43 has a radial dimension 53 ofapproximately 0.50 inches. If employed, the secondary outer beveledsurface 45 may begin at a radial dimension 55 of approximately 1.25inches from the inner surface 401 of the connector 40. Of course, thesedimensions may vary depending upon the particular application. Asdepicted in FIGS. 3A-3B, in one illustrative embodiment, the weld joint30 of the present invention has an angular alignment land 60 with anillustrative radial thickness 61 of approximately 0.25 inches. Theradial thickness 61 of the angular alignment surface 60 may vary fromapproximately 0.25-0.375 inches depending upon the particularapplication. That is, the angular alignment land 60 is positioned at anangle, relative to the line 50, that may vary from, for example,approximately 25-50 degrees on either side of the line 50. In general,as the angle 42 gets larger (relative to the line 50) the self-alignmentcapabilities of the joint 30 tend to increase, but at some point theability to achieve complete weld penetration of the joint 30 becomesmore difficult also. Thus, these competing concerns must be addressedfor each particular application.

In one illustrative embodiment, for pipes 22 having a wall thickness 32of 0.75 inches or greater, the joint 30 is configured such that theangular alignment land 60 begins at a radial location 65 that isapproximately 0.25 inches from the inner surface 221 of the pipe 22.However, depending on the particular application, the radial location 65may vary. For example, for pipes 22 having a wall thickness 32 ofapproximately 0.50 inches, the radial location 65 may be approximately0.125 inches from the inner surface 221 of the pipe 22.

For pipes 22 having a wall thickness 32 less than one inch, the angularalignment land 60 is also provided, and it may also have a radialthickness 61 of approximately 0.25 inches. For such relativelythin-walled pipe 22, the angular alignment surface 60 may be positionedat approximately mid-thickness of the pipe 22. For example, for a pipethickness 32 of 0.500 inches, the radial dimension 51 (see FIG. 3A) ofthe pipe inner beveled surface 33 may be 0.125 inches, thereby leavingan additional 0.25 inches of thickness beyond the height 61 of theangular alignment land 60. (0.125″ internal bevel height+0.25 inchesangular alignment land thickness+0.125″ outer bevel height=0.50″ totalpipe well thickness). The precise values would, of course, varydepending upon the particular application. However, it is envisionedthat in at least some embodiments the angular alignment land 60 wouldusually have a radial thickness 61 ranging from approximately 0.25-0.375inches. It should also be understood that in relatively thin-walledpipes 22, the position of the angular alignment land 60 within the wallof the pipe may vary, i.e., it need not be positioned at themid-thickness of the pipe 22 in all situations.

The angular alignment land 60 provides many benefits with respect to thealignment of the pipe 22 and the connector 40. For example, in thedepicted embodiment, due to the interaction of the pipe outer beveledsurface 31 and the connector inner beveled surface 43 of the connector40, the pipe 22 and connector 40 tend to self-align themselves (in anaxial direction) when they are axially urged together with sufficientforce. Such force may be applied by a variety of techniques.

Once the weld joint 30 is properly aligned, both axially andcircumferentially, the joint 30 may be welded using a variety of knowntechniques, such as, for example, submerged arc welding (SAW), gas metalarc welding (GMAW) or SAW in combination with GMAW techniques. The joint30 may be welded using the practices and procedures described in API'sspecification entitled “Welding Connectors to Pipe” (API RecommendedPractice 5C6, First Edition, December 1996), which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

For pipes 22 having a wall thickness 32 less than or equal to one inch,the design of the joint 30 is such that it may be welded together usinga welding process wherein a single pass is made on the inside of thejoint 30 and, thereafter, a single pass is made from the outside of thejoint 30. That is, such joints 30 may, in some embodiments of thepresent invention, be completed by performing only two welding passes,one from the inside, one from the outside. For pipes 22 having a wallthickness 32 greater than one inch, the inner portion of the joint 30may be filled with a single weld pass, like that described above.However, the outer portion of the weld joint 30 may require multiplewelding passes to completely fill the outer portion of the joint 30 dueto its increased volume.

One illustrative welding process that may be employed to weld the joint30 will be described with more detail with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative joint 30 wherein the thickness 32 of thepipe 22 is less than or equal to one inch. The intersection between theouter beveled surface 41 of the connector 40 and the outer beveledsurface 31 of the pipe 22 defines an outer root 65 of the joint 30. Theintersection of the inner beveled surface 33 of the pipe 22 and theinner beveled surface 43 of the connector 40 defines an inner root 67 ofthe joint 30.

As indicated previously, in one illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, a single inner weld bead 70 may be used to fill the innerportion of the joint 30 using a SAW process. The longitudinal axis ofthe pipe 22 is indicated by the line 75. The bead 70 may be formed bywelding approximately 370 degrees around the interior of the joint 30.The additional 10 degrees of circumferential weld is provided to stitchor overlap the start point of the weld bead 70. The amperage employed toproduce the weld bead 70 may be reduced in the area of overlap so as notto result in a localized spot of excessive reinforcement. The initialweld bead 70 should be formed using a process that provides sufficientenergy such that the penetration of the weld bead 70, as indicated bydashed line 71, approaches, but does not burn through, the outer root 65of the joint 30 to the point where the resulting weld joint 30 isdefective. In some cases, the weld bead 70 will be formed such that thepenetration of the weld bead 70 approaches 50% of the wall thickness 32of the pipe 22.

The next process of this illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention involves forming an outer weld bead 72 in the outer portion ofthe joint 30 as depicted in FIG. 4B. The weld bead 72 may be formedusing a welding process, for example, a SAW process, in a single passthat is performed approximately 370 degrees around the exteriorcircumference of the joint 30. The penetration of the illustrative weldbead 72 is schematically depicted by the dashed line 73. Due to thepresence of the weld bead 70, the process used to form the weld bead 72may be performed at a relatively high energy level to insure fullpenetration of the completed joint 30.

In one illustrative embodiment, the joint 30 may be completed using thefollowing illustrative SAW welding procedures. The illustrative weldingprocedures are described for a joint 30 between a pipe 22 (API 5L X56)having a diameter of 20 inches and a wall thickness of 0.812 inches, anda connector 40 (ASTM A694 F70). The joint 30 is provided with an angularalignment land 60 with a radial thickness 61 of approximately 0.25inches and the beveled angles 42, 44 (see FIGS. 3A-3B) are approximately30 and 45 degrees, respectively. In this particularly illustrativeexample, the joint 30 may be completed by performing a single SAW weldpass on the interior of the joint 30 and by performing a single SAW weldpass on the exterior of the joint 30. The SAW process performed to fillthe interior of the joint 30 may be performed at approximately 480-510amps, approximately 36-38 volts and at a travel speed of approximately14-15 inches per minute. In one very particular embodiment, the firstpass may be performed on the interior of the joint 30 at approximate 480amps, approximately 37 volts and at a travel speed of approximately 14inches per minute. The SAW process performed to fill the exteriorportion of the joint 30 may be performed at approximately 675-700 amps,approximately 36-39 volts, and at a travel speed ranging fromapproximately 16.5-17.5 inches per minute. In one very particularembodiment, the SAW process to fill the exterior portion of the joint 30may be performed at approximately 675 amps, approximately 37 volts andat a travel speed of approximately 16.5 inches per minute. The weldingis performed in the flat (horizontal) position while the work pieces arerotated. No preheat or post weld heat treatment was performed in thisparticular application, although such heat treating process may berequired in other applications. The weld interpass temperature isapproximately 450 F. In one particular embodiment, the joint 30 may bewelded using 3/32 inch diameter Lincoln L-56 wire with 880M flux whereinthe typical electrode stick out is approximately 1.125 inches. Inperforming the SAW process to fill the exterior portion of the joint 30,the electrode may be offset from the centerline of the joint 30 byapproximately 1 inch. However, it should be understood that the abovedetails regarding the SAW welding procedures are illustrative in nature.Thus, the present invention should not be limited to such details unlessthey are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Although a process has been disclosed wherein the joint 30 depicted inFIG. 4A may be completed by performing single weld passes from both theinside and outside of the joint 30, the present invention is not limitedto such a process. That is, the novel configuration of the joint 30, asdefined by the detailed geometry of the pipe surfaces 31, 33 andconnector surfaces 41, 43, may be welded together using other weldingprocesses and techniques. For example, the inner portion of the joint 30may be filled with two or more weld beads instead of the single weldbead 70 depicted in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C depicts an illustrative joint 30 wherein the thickness 32 of thepipe 22 is greater than one inch. In one illustrative embodiment, theinner portion of the joint 30 depicted in FIG. 4C may be filled with asingle weld bead 70 using a welding process as described above withreference to FIG. 4A. Due to its relatively large volume, the outerportion of the joint 30 in FIG. 4C may be filled with multiple weldbeads by performing multiple welding passes or using multiple weldingtools. For example, the outer portion of the joint 30 may be filledusing four weld beads 81, 82, 83 and 84 that are sequentially depositedusing any of a variety of welding techniques. During the formation ofthe first weld bead 81, the energy of the welding process may beincreased to insure complete penetration of the joint 30. In fact, thefirst weld bead 81 may be applied at a relatively high energy due to thepresence of the previously formed weld bead 70 on the inner portion ofthe joint 30.

The various beveled surfaces 31, 33, 41, 43 on pipe 22 and connector 40may be formed by a variety of techniques, e.g., machining, cutting,grinding, arc gouging, torch cutting, etc. The surface finish on thevarious beveled surfaces, e.g., 31, 33, 41, 43 may be approximately 250RMS. In one particular embodiment, as indicated in FIG. 5A, the pipe 22may be purchased with an industry standard 30□ bevel and vertical land87. Thereafter, the inner beveled surface 33 (indicated in dashed lines88 in FIG. 5A) may be formed by removing the vertical land 87 and theadjacent material 89 as indicated in FIGS. 5A-5B. That is, an internalchamfer may be formed on standard API pipe to define the inner beveledsurface 33. As set forth above, any technique may be employed to removethe land 87 and the adjacent material 89 to thereby define the innerbeveled surface 33. Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art after reading the present application that the beveled surfacesformed on the pipe 22 and connector 40 could, if desired, be reversed.That is, the beveled surfaces 41, 43 formed on the connector 40 could beformed on the pipe 22, and the beveled surfaces 31, 33 formed on thepipe 22 could be formed on the connector 40. Moreover, the presentinvention may also be employed in situations when the joint 30 isinverted, i.e., the beginning radial location of the angular alignmentland 60 may be positioned approximately 0.25-0.375 inches from the outersurface 220 of the pipe 22. Thus, the present invention should not beconsidered as limited to the illustrative embodiments and configurationsdepicted herein unless such limitations are expressly recited in thepending claims.

The present invention is generally directed to a novel weld joint thatmay be used to join tubular components, such as, for example, aconnector and a pipe and to various novel methods of welding suchcomponents together. In one illustrative embodiment, the presentinvention is directed to a device comprised of a pipe and a connectoradapted to be welded to the pipe at a weld joint, wherein the pipe andthe connector each have an inner beveled surface and an outer beveledsurface, and wherein the weld joint has an angular alignment land. Inanother illustrative embodiment, the present invention is directed to amethod comprised of positioning a connector adjacent an end of a pipe towhich it is adapted to be welded at a weld joint, wherein the pipe andthe connector each have an inner beveled surface and an outer beveledsurface, and wherein the weld joint has an angular alignment land, andperforming at least one welding process to weld the connector to thepipe at the weld joint. In another illustrative embodiment, the presentinvention is directed to a method wherein the weld joint is completed byperforming at least one welding pass to fill an interior portion of theweld joint, and performing at least one welding pass to fill an exteriorportion of the weld joint. In yet another illustrative embodiment, thepresent invention is directed to a method wherein the welding isaccomplished by performing a first single welding pass to fill aninterior portion of the weld joint, and performing a second singlewelding pass to fill an exterior portion of the weld joint. In yet afurther embodiment, the present invention is directed to a methodcomprised of performing a first single welding pass to fill an interiorportion of the weld joint, and performing a plurality of welding passesto fill an exterior portion of the weld joint.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as theinvention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalentmanners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of theteachings herein. For example, the process steps set forth above may beperformed in a different order. Furthermore, no limitations are intendedto the details of construction or design herein shown, other than asdescribed in the claims below. It is therefore evident that theparticular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified andall such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of theinvention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth inthe claims below.

Whereas the present invention has been described in particular relationto the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other andfurther modifications apart from those shown or suggested herein, may bemade within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A method, comprising: positioning a connector adjacent an end of apipe, said connector and said pipe adapted to be welded together in asubmerged arc welding process at a weld joint, wherein said weld jointhas only a single inner beveled surface, only a single outer beveledsurface, and an angular alignment land; and performing a single interiorwelding pass to fill the weld joint at the inner beveled surface, and;performing more than one exterior welding pass to fill the weld joint atthe outer beveled surface, to weld said connector to said pipe at saidweld joint.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said connector iscomprised of an internally threaded box.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said connector is comprised of an externally threaded pin. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein said angular alignment land has a radialthickness ranging from 0.25-0.375 inches.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein said angular self-alignment land begins at a point that isradially offset 0.125-0.25 inches from an internal cylindrical surfaceof said pipe.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said angular alignmentland begins at a point that is radially offset 0.125-0.25 inches from anexternal cylindrical surface of said pipe.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein said angular alignment land is formed at an angle ranging from25 to 50 degrees on either side of a line normal to a longitudinalcenterline of said pipe.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said angularalignment land is defined by an engagement between said outer beveledsurface of said pipe and said inner beveled surface of said connector.9. The method of claim 1, wherein said angular alignment land is definedby an engagement between said outer beveled surface of said connectorand said inner beveled surface of said pipe.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising performing the submerged arc welding process on theinterior portion of said weld joint at an amperage ranging fromapproximately 480-510 amps and at a voltage ranging from approximately36-38 volts; and, performing the submerged arc welding process weldingpass on an exterior portion of said weld joint, at an amperage rangingfrom approximately 675-700 amps and at a voltage ranging fromapproximately 36-38 volts.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein saidconnector is comprised of an internally threaded box.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein said connector is comprised of an externally threadedpin.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein said angular alignment land hasa radial thickness ranging from 0.25-0.375 inches.
 14. The method ofclaim 10, wherein said angular self-alignment land begins at a pointthat is radially offset 0.125-0.25 inches from an internal cylindricalsurface of said pipe.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein said angularalignment land begins at a point that is radially offset 0.125-0.25inches from an external cylindrical surface of said pipe.
 16. The methodof claim 10, wherein said angular alignment land is formed at an angleranging from 25 to 50 degrees on either side of a line normal to alongitudinal centerline of said pipe.
 17. The method of claim 10,wherein said angular alignment land is defined by an engagement betweensaid outer beveled surface of said pipe and said inner beveled surfaceof said connector.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein said angularalignment land is defined by an engagement between said outer beveledsurface of said connector and said inner beveled surface of said pipe.